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Post by Paul_Martha on Apr 14, 2012 13:31:43 GMT
I am seriously considering bringing just a few clothes and shopping in the area. We have grown children, so it would just be for me. Are there any US chain stores, i.e Banana Republic, Gap, etc, in the area or is this a crazy idea? what are some of the stores in the area that have women's clothes?
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Post by soverydeb on Apr 14, 2012 16:09:26 GMT
Bring the clothes you love from home. Yes, there are a few US shops, but most are European, and the fit is much different. Plus, you'll need transportation almost immediately just to go shopping.
Many women's clothing stores....the US ones (that I can recall) are: Gap, Express...umm, I'm drawing a blank...but there aren't many (US).
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Post by Hadia on Apr 14, 2012 16:27:40 GMT
Martha, if you're used to American style clothing, you may not like a lot of what you see in the stores here. You can fit a lot of clothing into Uhaul dish barrel boxes. I recommend you bring what you like and need and then you can always supplement later. Same for undergarments and swimwear. It's not too hard to figure out sizes though. Here's a web site where you can find some help: www.onlineconversion.com/clothing_womens.htm |
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Post by gareth0127 on Apr 14, 2012 17:52:07 GMT
Shopping and in particular clothes shopping, is one of the most frustrating and annoying things about living here. My advice would be to bring anything you can from home!
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Post by Paul_Martha on Apr 15, 2012 8:07:04 GMT
Thanks so much for all this information. This site has been sooo helpful!!! One last question...Is it difficult to order through online catalogs and have it sent to Dharhan?
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Post by Hadia on Apr 15, 2012 10:46:52 GMT
I've mentioned it elsewhere in the forum, but I find it quite easy to order things online and have it delivered to our door inside the camp by using Aramex's Shop and Ship service. A lot of expats use this service. Once you are physically situated in KSA and have your iqama, you can sign up for their service. They'll give you street addresses you can use in the US, UK and China. You have your items shipped to one of those addresses, and then Aramex relabels and air ships it to you in Dhahran. I've found that it works out to about $12 USD/pound for Aramex shipping from the States (I've not ordered anything via the UK or China addresses, but might experiment!). If you order from a vendor like Amazon and can get free domestic shipping to the US address, it's not all that expensive for lightweight items such as clothes. Some vendors will ship to international addresses, but I've not gone that route since we use post office boxes here and I'd rather have my stuff delivered to my house than have to chase it down at the post office across camp. There are some companies that won't ship to known shop and ship addresses.
Other Aramcons could jump in here with more info about this topic, and what they do. There may well be other efficient ways of ordering items online for delivery to KSA. When I arrived though, my neighbors all advised me to get an Aramex account, since it's fairly fast and predictable, and that things move through Customs very fast if you use Aramex. Family members use our Aramex Shop and Ship address for sending (unwrapped) gifts here. That way, the cost burden on them is just to get it to our US address in NY state, and then we pick up the tab for the Aramex portion to Dhahran.
When you visit some vendors' web sites, you'll see that they might offer shipping to select international destinations. So you'd have options of some sort, depending on how you want to ship.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Apr 15, 2012 11:43:54 GMT
I have ordered clothes from various different online clothing outlets and have always had them delivered directly to my company mail address. I mostly use Lands' End and LL Bean and so far (touch wood) I have never had a problem with a shipment. Lands' End seems to be a little quicker than LL Bean for some reason - I have actually had Lands' End stuff arrive exactly 7 days after ordering, using "Priority Air Mail" as the delivery method, even though their site says to allow 2-4 weeks. 10 days to two weeks is more normal, though.
When a package arrives, you get an email from the Mail Center, you stop by and pick it up - I find it very easy and straightforward.
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Post by Paul_Martha on Apr 15, 2012 12:03:25 GMT
This is all so informative and GREAT news! Thank you for all your help as we get ready to leave US.
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Post by isgraves@hotmail.com on Apr 20, 2012 13:40:09 GMT
You had a follow question about which website retailers will ship to KSA...my wife uses Lands End, Talbots, and recently J Crew. Sometimes these sites have promotions on shipping, so you get extended deals for shipping too.
The Gap ships here, but their shipping prices are way high.
If you have family back in the States, have them ship your stuff through USPS, as they are cheapest.
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